"You scared me to death!" Xi Que exclaimed, putting down the phoenix seal that felt as heavy as "a thousand pounds." She patted her chest and said, "When Consort De put her hand on it, I thought she was really going to take the seal away. My heart was in my throat!"
If it weren't for their mistress suddenly "reminding" Consort De, the phoenix seal might have truly been taken by her.
Jiang Xinyue rolled her eyes at her. "You're hopeless. Didn't I tell you? You can boldly offer it to her. If she dares to take it, the Emperor will immediately send someone to help me get it back. She was only one step away from success, how could she risk it?"
If she had taken the phoenix seal at that moment, it would have seemed too eager and impatient, leaving a bad impression on the Emperor. That would have been counterproductive.
Jiang Xinyue had guessed correctly that she wouldn't dare, nor would she do something that would damage her reputation, which is why she so readily let Xi Que give her the phoenix seal.
What use was it for the other concubines to trust her and seek her out?
It was nothing but trivial matters, not worth using the phoenix seal for.
If there were any major issues, Consort De would still have to come to Hexi Palace to consult Jiang Xinyue, after all, she held the phoenix seal.
It was like a company's official seal - any announcement issued without the company's seal would lack credibility.
In Yikun Palace, the Empress was sitting in a chair, holding the Fifth Prince in her arms, teaching him to write his name on rice paper.
Fen Yun reported the morning's covert battle in detail: "Your Majesty, this Consort De..."
She was very confused. The former Consort De had always been well-behaved, often offering strategies for the Empress without asking for anything in return. She remained so low-key that it seemed she had nothing special she wanted in this life, never making requests to the Empress.
How could such a big incident happen this time? Not only did she not come to Yikun Palace to explain, but she even led the other concubines to pay respects at Hexi Palace?
It was said that the group was driven out by Senior Concubine Xian.
The Empress patted the Fifth Prince's little bottom, letting the wet nurse take him away before saying, "For these ten years or more, we've been fooled by her excellent acting skills. She's been pretending to be without desires for so long that even I was deceived."
She knew Consort De wasn't as detached as she appeared on the surface, but she never imagined that her ambition was hidden so deep.
"What should we do now?"
Consort De's father was the Duke of Cheng, a Marquis of Supreme Grade, and also held the important position of Supervising Censor of the Six Offices in the court. If she were to be deposed, Consort De would be the most likely to ascend to the position of Empress.
As for Senior Concubine Xian...
Not only did she not want to be Empress herself, even if she did, it wouldn't be her turn.
No matter how much the Emperor loved her, the weakness of the Jiang family was an undeniable fact. Even if they produced a second-rank official, they couldn't compete with the many concubines from good family backgrounds.
The Empress narrowed her eyes, "Tell the Internal Affairs Department to add the cousin from The Third Maternal Aunt of Consort De's family to next spring's selection of imperial concubines."
When Consort De entered the palace ten years ago, her cousin was only five or six years old. Now she was old enough to enter the palace for selection.
It was said that when Consort De entered the palace for selection, one of her cousins also came along. But for some reason, that cousin fell ill as soon as she entered the palace. It was Consort De who begged the Emperor, kowtowing every step of the way at Sheng'an Temple to pray for her cousin's health, which allowed her cousin to live for a few more months.
It was because of this that the Emperor began to see Consort De in a new light.
Pitifully, that cousin died miserably in Chuxiu Palace after Consort De gained favor.
This was originally a secret, but who would have thought that when Consort De entered the palace, the Empress had already been managing the imperial harem for many years. The funeral arrangements for that cousin were even ordered by the Empress.
The Third Maternal Aunt of Consort De's family must be very curious about how their perfectly healthy daughter entered the palace only to pass away a few months later.
It was said that The Little Cousin had a fiery temperament and had been investigating the truth behind her sister's death. Why not give her a chance to enter the palace and investigate?
The Empress was confident that after all the investigation, the suspicions would ultimately fall on Consort De.
One only needed to look at how all the benefits went to Consort De after the elder cousin's death to understand.
There's a saying that's very apt: When you don't know who the culprit is, it's simple - look at who benefited the most from the incident, and start investigating from there.
While the Empress was thinking about how to deal with Consort De, Consort De wasn't idle either.
After returning from Hexi Palace, she had her confidant send a letter back to the Duke of Cheng's mansion.
After reading it, the Duke of Cheng steeled his heart, called for his guards and gave them instructions, cautiously admonishing, "Success or failure hinges on this one move. Success is the only option, failure is not permitted."
To help his daughter compete for that supreme position, it was worth taking some risks.
Having successfully sowed discord between the two sides, Jiang Xinyue kept a low profile.
She now had the Fourth Prince and Sixth Prince, and would take the two little ones to play in the Imperial Garden every day.
Before coming to Hexi Palace, the Fourth Prince looked like a little bean, at six or seven years old he wasn't as sturdy as other four-year-olds. After being nurtured in Hexi Palace for some time, he had grown taller, and because of the balanced nutrition he received daily, he had also gained weight, looking somewhat like a miniature version of the Martial Emperor.
The Third Prince used to always pat the Fourth Prince's head and make him call him "big brother," but now that they were the same height, the Third Prince was somewhat unhappy. He could only grab the Sixth Prince, hanging around the Sixth Prince's little cradle all day, teaching him to call him "Third Brother."
The Fourth Prince was not to be outdone: "Tuan Tuan, call me Fourth Brother, don't call him Third Brother. Fourth Brother will give you candy."
"Fourth Prince!" Xi Que raised her voice and called out, "Don't secretly feed candy to the Sixth Prince. Have you forgotten what Senior Concubine Xian said about candy making children stupid?"
Shen Ming, caught red-handed, smiled ingratiatingly, "Sister Xi Que, I didn't give any to little brother Tuan Tuan. I was just tricking him into calling me Fourth Brother!"
The Third Prince covered his mouth and giggled, "Serves you right for getting scolded! That's what you get for trying to corrupt good little Tuan Tuan."
He snatched the candy from the Fourth Prince's hand. "If Tuan Tuan's not eating it, I'll have it. I am your big brother after all."
The snacks from Concubine Zhen's Palace were the most delicious.
"Slap!"
Just as the Third Prince unwrapped the candy and was about to pop it into his mouth, his personal palace maid swatted it away. With a guarded expression, she said, "My apologies, Xi Que. Our mistress doesn't allow the Third Prince to eat random food outside."
The Third Prince looked at the golden candy on the ground, his wrist reddened from being struck. His lips quivered as he burst into tears, "I hate Aunt Ning... I don't like Aunt Ning anymore, waaah..."
As he spoke, he wiped his tears and turned to run away.
Aunt Ning was about to chase after him when Jiang Xinyue casually remarked from the side, "If you're going to act like this, you'd better keep the Third Prince more confined in the future. Don't let him come to Hexi Palace so often, and don't let him play with the Fourth Prince and Sixth Prince too much. If anything happens to make him uncomfortable, I don't want to be held responsible."
Aunt Ning's face reddened, but she ultimately said nothing and led her palace staff to chase after the Third Prince.
The Fourth Prince was somewhat frightened. He walked up to Jiang Xinyue and timidly asked, "Mother, did I do something wrong?"
"It's not your fault," Jiang Xinyue consoled him. "Some people are just paranoid and see everything as dirty."
